She Made Us Laugh, She Made Us Cry – Remembering a Sweet Encounter with Loretta Swit

(Loretta Swit as Major Margaret Houlihan on M*A*S*H)

The banner headline took me completely by surprise late last week as I prepared to watch M*A*S*H – “Loretta Swit 1937 – 2025.” What?! I went online and searched the sad headlines. Yes, the star of M*A*S*H, who’d just been posting on social media, was unexpectedly dead. As tributes began to multiply, I remembered an encounter with her two years.

I’d begun writing my Korean War novel, East of the Sun, featuring a MASH nurse and a mysterious, badly wounded North Korean officer. I reached out to her through her website, asking for information about the Korean actor who appeared several times on M*A*S*H and who inspired my book’s character. She quickly wrote back, and I’d like to share some of what she said to me:

“It means a great deal to me that we both appreciate what a role
model the character of Margaret Houlihan was and continues to be.
I’m very proud of her.

“I’m proud of you as well, dear gender-sister. You give new meaning to the word prolific. Your new book sounds very exciting and in my case, of course, holds great interest and fascination. . .

“I’d love to read your book and, if you turn it into an Audio, I’ll read it for you, et al !!

“Bonne chance with EAST OF THE SUN and thank you again for sharing.

God bless.
🙏”

This encouraging letter meant a great deal to me, and I’m touched by her taking the time to write and cheer me on. I think her best-known role evolved from an initially questionable and not altogether likeable character because she fought to make Margaret multi-dimensional. That included getting rid of the “Hot Lips” nickname. In one later episode, she tells Hawkeye that what she wants most from her future mother-in-law is “respect. Simple respect.” The changes she brought in her role helped bring that about. I enjoyed watching her come into a better place in her fictional life. Rest in Peace, dear Loretta Swit.